Determining your Conference Table Seating Capacity

When selecting a conference room table, one of the first things you need to determine is the size and seating capacity that is required. In order to do this, there are many factors that need to be determined.

Most conference room chairs will be 24″-30″ in width. Typically a width of 30″ per person is recommended as a minimum. This is most commonly used when the size of the room limits the size of the conference room table that can be used. If you have extra room to spare, 36″ is very comfortable, and is an appropriate size for boardroom use.

For situations that require more space (if each employee is using their own laptop computer, for example) a larger space of 42″ may be preferable.

Shape and Seating Capacity

The shape of your conference table also determines the amount of seating space per person that can be used.

Rectangular, Square, or Boat Shaped:These tend to be the most commonly used conference table shapes, as they also provide the most space. To determine the seating capacity of these table shapes, use the following simple formula:

Racetrack Shape: This shape consists of a rectangular center with half circle ends. Because of this, you will not be able to fit quite as many people. For this shape, the following formula can be used:

Round Shape: This shape is also popular, but can be somewhat inefficient when one is concerned about space. It is also important to make sure to not crowd the user’s leg space. When determining the seating capacity, this shape tends to have the easiest formula:

Keystone Shape: This shape is used primarily for video conferencing, and therefore the wide end part of the table is not typically used for seating. Because of this, it has one less person for the seating capacity. The formula can be used below:

U-Shaped, V-Shaped, and Other Unique Shapes: Because these shapes can be very unique and often depend on how the manufacturer constructs them, it is best to use the manufacturer’s guidelines to determine the seating capacity.

*If you still questions regarding the potential seating capacity for a conference table, our friendly staff at Executive Desk Company will be happy to help. You are able to contact us anytime between the hours of 8am – 5pm PST, Monday – Friday.